COSTA BLOG

Healthy Ingredient Swaps

At Costa Vida, we’ve found the key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle is simply to create balance. While it’s important to fuel your body with whole foods most of the time, it’s also important to allow yourself to splurge. Yes, that means you can be healthy while staying true to your deep love of queso. Your body will let you know when it craves more wholesome foods and when it needs to indulge. After all, where’s the fun in eating 100% healthy 100% of the time?

Throughout our years of serving our homemade menu, we’ve discovered a few healthy ingredient swaps guests commonly make. Use these simple swaps to add extra nutrients and make your favorite meals a little lighter.

Salad Dressing
Next time you order a salad, choose salsa or pico de gallo instead of dressing. Our homemade salsas are full of fresh vegetables that flavor your salad without added calories. Swap dressing for salsa and you‘ll benefit from Vitamin C, dietary fiber, antioxidants, and more.

Flour Tortilla
Just like our flour tortillas, our whole-wheat tortillas are made from scratch and grilled to order on a cast iron comal. Try a wheat tortilla on your next burrito or salad to increase your intake of healthy whole grains, fiber, and protein.

Sour Cream
We love the creaminess of sour cream on nachos and quesadillas. Consider trying guacamole, a healthier creamy alternative. Avocados contain over 20 minerals, vitamins, and phytonutrients and are rich in heart-healthy fats.

Rice
If you’re watching carbs, we suggest enjoying grilled veggies in your burritos and salads instead of rice. The sliced bell peppers and onions will fill your meal with satisfying dietary fiber, more than your daily dose of Vitamin C, and cancer-fighting carotenoids.

Queso
Dip your chips in pico de gallo instead of queso on the days you feel you need a lighter alternative. Just like our other homemade salsas, pico de gallo is rich in Vitamin C and antioxidants.